On 26 April, Sacha and Samuel received a special prize, which they redeemed on 14 May – two tickets to the Startup Days in Bern. They presented their invention to the public at the IPI’s information stand. Naturally, the determined students also took the opportunity to network.
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Two young rocket scientists with a clear plan
Sacha Bumann and Samuel Gebhard are fascinated by space technology. For the national Swiss Youth in Science competition, the two inventors developed a hybrid rocket engine and were awarded a special prize by the Swiss Federal Institute of Intellectual Property (IPI). We spoke to the finalists about their project.
A great opportunity for two Swiss Youth in Science finalists – Samuel Gebhard and Sacha Bumann presented their project at the Startup Days in Bern. Photo: IPI
Not long after the Swiss Youth in Science final, you’re here at the Startup Days. How are you finding it?
Sacha Bumann: It’s been a great experience. We’ve seen how the start-up world works and where we might be ourselves in a few years’ time. There were also interesting presentations, including one on space technologies by EPFL. It was particularly exciting to be able to make new contacts.
Samuel Gebhard: The event has inspired us for the future. If we ever decide to found a start-up, we’ve already gained a lot of valuable information here. We know who we can get support from and who our potential competitors will be. The networking will definitely benefit us. Our discussions with people from outside the field were also interesting and inspiring.
Are you already thinking about founding a start-up?
Sacha Bumann: Yes, that’s our plan. After university, we want to continue working on rocket engines and discover new possibilities. Our goal is to create a product that’s useful to the world.
Samuel Gebhard: To us, a start-up means having the freedom to do what we like, which is developing rocket engines.
How did the idea for your project come about?
Sacha Bumann: We wanted to work on something that we could make at home using 3D printers. A YouTube video inspired us to develop the hybrid rocket engine. The timing was perfect because the suggested topics for our baccalaureate project didn’t appeal to us. So we focused on rockets, which we were already interested in. It was literally a project that we pursued on our own initiative.
What was the most fascinating part of the project?
Samuel Gebhard: The whole process was exciting, from coming up with the idea to making the final product. We didn’t know much about rocket engines at first, but we learned a lot and immersed ourselves in the subject. Working on the engine and choosing the materials was particularly interesting. Before the Swiss Youth in Science final, we carried out a few more tests to fine-tune our measurements.
Sacha Bumann: We also learned how to manage a project and to work as a team. The most important thing was to identify a problem and solve it step by step.
